Closures and snow emergencies throughout area; no school in NPSD, SASD

LANSDALE — It’s too early to tell whether there will be six more weeks of winter, like a certain groundhog predicted this past weekend, but Monday’s snows will not be the last we see.

More winter weather is on the way later this week, and could make yet another appearance over the weekend.

“There should be very little happening the rest of Monday night and Tuesday. Temperatures drop down into the upper teens, low 20s, and you’ll have a sunny start to the day Tuesday,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines.

“Clouds return in the afternoon, and then you have some issues coming later (Tuesday) night into Wednesday: when it comes in, it looks like snow, which could cause problems for the early commute on Wednesday, and then it goes over to rain in the late morning before it ends, early afternoon,” Kines said.

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Snow totals throughout the region on Monday topped half a foot in places, according to totals reported by the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety: 9 inches in Ambler, 8 in Trappe, 7.5 in Lansdale, and slightly more than 7 in Skippack.

Those heavy snows caused several delays and closures throughout our area Monday, including a day off from school for both the North Penn and Souderton Area school districts, along with Lansdale Catholic High School and Corpus Christi and Mater Dei grade schools.

Snow emergencies were declared in Lansdale, Hatfield and North Wales Boroughs and Towamencin, Franconia, Montgomery, Upper Gwynedd and Hatfield Townships, most running through Monday evening but with Franconia’s declaration running through noon Tuesday. All municipalities ban parking on streets designated as snow emergency routes so streets can be plowed more easily, and require that sidewalks be cleared of snow and ice within 24 hours of the end of the snowfall.

North Wales also prohibited bicycling on Monday to ensure the safety of all residents, according to Mayor Greg D’Angelo. A Hatfield Township Parks Board meeting scheduled for Monday night was cancelled and will be rescheduled, and administrative offices for several local municipalities were either closed or opened late due to snow as well.

The Lansdale Public Library and North Wales Area Library both closed Monday due to snow, as did the Montgomery County Court House in Norristown.

Speed limits on all major highways in the area were temporarily reduced to 45 mph by PennDOT due to winter conditions, and PennDOT spokesman Charles Metzger said that department had its fleet of 415 trucks deployed starting at 2 a.m. Monday throughout its southeastern five-county District Six region.

“Going into (Monday) we’ve used 104,000 tons of salt, which is the sixth time in the last 35 years that we’ve gone over the 100,000-ton mark,” Metzger said.

“We started with a ground game of applying a layer of salt, then we turned into more of a plowing operation because it was coming down so quick and so heavy,” up to an inch per hour during Monday’s rush hour, he said.

No major roads were closed in our area due to the weather, despite slushy conditions on most roads throughout the morning and the occasional spin-out disabled vehicle or tractor trailer stopped in place to wait out the snow. The heavy volume of snowfall led plow truck drivers to focus more on plowing than on salting — and the department still has close to $3.5 million left out of its total $22.5 million budgeted for snow removal, according to Metzger.

The next storm slated to arrive Wednesday could wash away much of the snowfall from Monday as well as that morning, Metzger said, but in all winter weather drivers should always be careful to leave plenty of distance behind the vehicle ahead, never try to pass plow trucks, keep headlights and windshield wipers on during snowstorms, and keep supplies on hand including a blanket, non-perishable food, water, a shovel and extra clothing on hand in your vehicle during emergency weather.

Kines said that following the early Wednesday snow-turned-rain, the sun will return Thursday but temperatures will top out only in the low 30s, before the next storm front rolls in Saturday or Sunday.

“It’s too early to say whether it’s snow changing to rain or just plain snow, but there will be another system to deal with,” Kines said.

Following the weekend snow, the same weather pattern looks likely to continue through much of February, with mild weather followed by cold likely until air masses start to warm and daytime sun exposure strengthens in March.

Regardless of the weather, Metzger said, PennDOT will be ready: “The next one hasn’t really taken shape yet for Saturday, but we’re preparing for the worst and hoping for the best,” he said.

For updated weather forecasts visit www.AccuWeather.com and for travel alerts and advisories throughout the region visit www.511PA.com or follow @511PAPhilly on Twitter.